Wire
by irishgirl9
Summary: F/A. How far will Angell go to protect Flack from false charges?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This story takes place after 5.14 Rush to Judgment It's not set in my Flack Angell series.

**Disclaimer:** Anything you recognize I don't own. The rest are figments of my imagination.

* * *

It had been a long week for Detective Jessica Angell. It started off with a murder investigation involving two rival drug dealers. A drive-by shooting had left an innocent bystander in a wheelchair for life. Then Jess had gotten food poisoning which laid her up for three days and Flack had to continue the investigation without her. It was then that things went from bad to worse.

Flack had gotten a search warrant for one of the drug dealers' apartments. In the bedroom he found ten kilos of cocaine. More than enough to put the guy away for a long time. The only problem was that there were no fingerprints on the package other than Flack's. The defense attorney was arguing that the detective had planted the cocaine under the bed.

Currently Jess was sitting in the office of Phil Lane, the officer in charge of the investigation into charges of planting evidence. Phil stood about six foot two, with a slight beer belly and receding hairline. His light brown hair had flecks of gray through out it. Jess couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something about this man that set her on edge.

"Detective Angell," said the IAB officer. "I suppose you know why you're here."

"I'm assuming this is about the charges against Detective Flack," said Jess. "He didn't do it."

"You weren't there so you can't say for certain that he didn't plant the cocaine under the bed."

"I know Don. He'd never plant evidence. Never."

"You know, it's two time in less than three months that IAB has investigated your boyfriend."

Angell bristled at the way that Phil emphasized the word boyfriend.

"It seems to me that your involvement with him could have a negative effect on your career."

"Who I date is none of IAB's concern."

"Oh, but it is," said Phil. "I'd hate to see a good cop dragged down by who she associates with."

"Don Flack is a good cop."

Phil moved to closer to Jess. He was now in front of his desk half perched on it. "I don't doubt that, but an accusation of planting evidence can't be ignored."

Jess knew it couldn't be, but she fully expected that once the investigation was over Flack would be cleared. She wasn't quite sure why she was called into IAB. She had started off the investigation with Flack, but was out sick for the rest of it.

Phil leaned over and brushed his arm gently down Angell's shoulder. "You know, I can definitely see what Flack sees in you."

Angell pushed her chair back to get farther away from Phil. This conversation had suddenly take an uncomfortable turn.

"Jessica, I don't want to have to file formal charges against Don. He's a good cop, but I have to do my job. Unless..." Phil trailed off.

"Unless what?"

"Unless you'd be willing to work out a deal."

"What kind of deal?" Jess wasn't sure she really wanted to know the answer.

"You meet me at my apartment Friday night."

"What?"

"Friday night, eight o'clock, my apartment."

Angell felt sick to her stomach. "And if I don't go to your apartment?"

"Let's just say that Flack should be exploring other job options."

"No way. I'm not gonna sleep with you."

"Well then I guess Flack can kiss his pension bye bye."

"I'm not going to let you get away with this!" growled Jess.

"What are you going to report me? Who's going to believe you? You'll just be a woman trying to help her boyfriend get away with what he did. Your career will be over."

Jess needed to get out of there fast. She didn't know what she was going to do, but she couldn't take another minute in the same room with Phil. She was halfway to the door when she felt Phil's strong grip on her right bicep yanking her back towards him.

"You want to commit career suicide, you go right ahead, but if you want to help yourself and your boyfriend, you'll be at my apartment Friday night." Phil pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket and pushed it into Angell's hand.

Fighting to control her anger, Jess wrenched her arm from Phil's grip and ran out of his office.

oooooOOOOooooo

Once back at her apartment, Jess finally let everything out. Grabbing a mug off the counter, she hurled it at the wall, watching as it shattered. There was no way she was going to sleep with Phil. Just thinking about it made her feel sick to her stomach and there was no way she would betray Don. She thought about reporting him, but knew it would be his word over hers. And with the fact that he was a well respected cop, chances were slim that anyone would believe her. She didn't know what to do, but she had three days to figure something out because there was no way she giving up her career with out a fight.

After standing there for awhile, Jess moved to clean up the shards from the shattered mug. Then she decided to get a shower as she felt dirty from Phil's touch. After grabbing some clean towels, she made her into the bathroom. She gave a small gasp when she saw the bruise on her arm. It was shaped like a hand print and she could make out individual finger marks.

oooooOOOOooooo

It was just after eight when there was a knock on Angell's door. Opening it up she saw Flack standing there holding a bag of take out.

"Hey, baby." Flack leaned in gave Jess a kiss. He couldn't help, but notice it was rather one-sided. "You feeling okay?"

"I'm fine," lied Angell. She wasn't ready to tell Don what happened knowing how angry it would make him.

"Well, I hope you're up for some soup cause I got your favorite from Rosenberg's deli."

Ten minutes later, Don and Jess were spread out on the sofa eating soup and watching a movie.

Don couldn't help, but notice how quiet his girlfriend was. He hoped that she wasn't still worried about the planting evidence case because it was nothing, but a lawyer blowing smoke to get his client off. He was sure that the he would be cleared. The fact that he hadn't been put in desk duty showed that the higher ups didn't really believe the charges. Placing his arm around her, Don tried to move Jess closer.

"Ow!" cried Jess as Don hand came into contact with her bruised bicep.

"What's wrong?" asked Flack, voice thick with concern.

"It's nothing. I just bruised my arm."

"What happened?"

"It's nothing," said Jess, not wanting to lie to flack again, but unable to tell him how she got the bruise.

I'll be the judge of that, thought Flack. "Let me just take a look at it."

Before Jess could protest, Flack gently pulled down her cardigan sweater revealing the hand print shaped bruise on her arm. "What the hell?"

"Don't worry. It doesn't hurt that much."

"Jess, that's a hand print. Who did that?"

Jess remained silent not sure of what to say.

"Jess, who put their hands on you?" Don was seeing red at the thought of someone hurting the woman he loved.

Jess thought about lying and saying that a suspect had grabbed her arm, but was sure Don would see right through that.

"Jess..."

"Phil Lane."

"The IAB guy?" Don was perplexed. "What was he doing with his hand on you?"

No longer able to hold it in, Jess told Don everything that had transpired earlier in the day.

"That bastard. I'm gonna kill him." Don was furious. Who did this guy think he was messing with Jess like that? "You're not dong it, Jess. You're not sleeping with that bastard!"

"I wasn't planning on it."

"I know that, baby." Gently Don pulled Jess close to him. "Why didn't you tell me what happened?"

"I was afraid you'd be mad and try to kill him."

"Well I want to kill him, but I'm not going to. You, however, are going to report him."

"It will be my word against his and who do you think they'll believe, a cop with more than twenty-five years on the force or a detective whose boyfriend is being investigated for planting evidence."

Flack swore under his breath. "Well, we'll think of something because that jerk is not going to get away with this."

That evening Jess fell into an uneasy sleep; the usual comfort that Don's arms around her usually provided was not there.

_More to Come_

Thank you for reading! Reviews are always greatly appreciated! Please let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning after a pretty restless sleep, Jess woke up alone. She was just about to go look for Don when he walked into the bedroom carry a tray laden with breakfast.

"Breakfast in bed, to what do I owe this pleasure?" asked Jess.

"I just wanted to do something nice for my girl." Don knew that his girlfriend hadn't gotten much sleep last night and wanted her morning to be a little better.

"I'm so lucky to have you," said Jess as she leaned to give Don a quick kiss on the lips.

Over breakfast they discussed what they were going to do about Phil and his threats against Jess.

"I've been thinking," said Jess. "Maybe I should go to Phil's."

"No way, Jess. You are not sleeping with that bastard."

"I'm not planning on it, Don," replied Jess. "I was thinking if I wore a wire, I could get him on tape making his threats against me and you."

"I don't know, Jess." Don didn't like the idea of Jess being alone with Phil in his apartment.

"Don, I think it's our best bet. All I'll need is a couple of minutes. Phil's cocky enough that that's all it will take to get him to admit to threatening me."

"Jess, I don't want you alone with that creep."

"Well, do you have any ideas?"

Don scowled. Jess was right. The only way they were going to be able get Phil would be to have him admit it on tape. "Jess, I thik we need back up on this."

"Who?"

"Well, I'm thinking maybe Mac could help us. We're gong to need a wire for you to wear and he'll be able to get us one. Plus, he knows you and knows you wouldn't make something like this up. I think I'll be able to get him to agree to keep this under the radar."

oooooOOOOooooo

Jess was nervous about bringing Mac in. First off, she didn't want the older man to get into any trouble if this thing went south. Secondly, it was rather embarrassing to her and she was never one to air her dirty laundry in public. However, she knew that she and Don couldn't get the necessary equipment needed. Not without raising suspicion.

"So, let me get this straight, Phil Lane said if you slept with him, all charges against Don would be dropped?" asked Mac.

"Not in so many words, but basically," replied Jess.

"You see, Mac, that's why we need the wire," said Don.

"I'm in," said Mac.

"Are you sure?" asked Jess. "I mean it's a lot to ask of you."

"This guy needs to be stopped, Chances are you're not the first cop he's done this to." The thought that Phil Lane was abusing his badge made Mac angry. It's guys like this that gave cops a bad name.

After Jess excused herself to go use the ladies room, Mac turned to Don. "So how's she really doing?"

"She's pissed. Jess worked hard to get where she is and Lane just comes along and threatens her like that."

"How are you doing?" Mac knew this whole thing had to be hard on Don as well.

"I'm okay. That is if you consider wanting to kill Lane okay."

oooooOOOOooooo

Friday night, just before eight o'clock, Jess was sitting in a surveillance van, outside Phil's apartment, getting some last minute instructions from Mac.

"Now Jess, it's important that you get Phil to admit exactly what he wants from you. We want there to be no doubt that he's expecting sex."

Jess nodded. Butterflies were swirling around her stomach. Not only were her and Don's careers on the line, but Mac's as well. She wasn't looking forward to being alone with Phil in his apartment, but she felt reassured knowing that Don and Mac were just across the street.

At first, Jess didn't want Don there. He didn't need to hear the suggestive things that Phil was sure to say to her. Plus, she was afraid that Don would storm the apartment and try to kill Phil. Now, however, as the moment was approaching she was grateful for his presence. Reaching out she grasped his hand and gave it a squeeze before she exited the van.

Sensing Don's apprehension, Mac spoke up. "She's gonna be fine, Don. We'll be able to hear everything that goes on."

"But what if something happens?"

"We'll be inside in a flash."

oooooOOOOooooo

Jess had to fight the urge to throw up when she saw the sickeningly sweet smile on Phil's face that greeted her when the door opened.

"Jessica, I knew you'd do the right thing." Phil stepped aside and invited Jess in. "Would you like a glass of wine to help loosen up?"

"No." Jess was no fool. She wasn't going to accept any drink he offered her in case it was drugged.

"Relax, Jess. I don't bite," said Phil. "Unless, you want me to."

Jess didn't join Phil in his laughter as she didn't find his remark amusing. More than anything, she wanted this to all be over with, but she still needed a confession out of Phil.

"Jess, I have a present for you." Phil picked a pink box up off the coffee table and held it out to Jess. "It's just the first of many gifts I plan on giving you tonight."

Taking the offered gift, Jess opened the box to find black, silk lingerie that left little to the imagination.

"Do you like it?" asked Phil. "I picked it out special for you."

Jess had to fight not to gag. There was no way in hell she was wearing that thing.

"Now, why don't you go in the bedroom and get changed. I just have to put the wine away and I'll be right in."

oooooOOOOooooo

Sitting in the van, Don was barely able to control his rage. If Mac wasn't there to keep him in check, he would have already burst in Phil's apartment the moment the man made his bite remark.

oooooOOOOooooo

Jess stood there not moving There was no way in hell she was going into Phil's bedroom. She just needed to think fast.

"Go on now, Jessica. You don't want to keep me waiting."

"I'm not wearing this."

"Why? Are you wearing something special already?" Phil reached over and tried to pull up Jess' sweater to see what she had on underneath.

Jess nearly fell over backwards trying to move away from Phil's groping hands.

"No need to be modest, baby. I'm gonna see it all soon."

"Wait a minute, I want to get something straight first. I do this and the charges against Don will be dropped."

"Yes, you make love with me and all charges against Don Flack will be dropped."

Jess hoped that Phil's admission would be enough because she didn't know how much longer she could stall him.

oooooOOOOooooo

"Is that enough?" asked Don.

"More than enough," replied Mac.

Without hesitation, Don was out of the van and running across the street. If Phil's apartment weren't on the thirty-fifth floor, he would have taken the stairs. Instead he had to wait for the elevator.

oooooOOOOooooo

"Now that that's clear, why don't you let me have a sneak peak," said Phil.

Once again, Jess tried to back away from Phil, but the sofa was blocking her way. Before she could do anything, Phil was pulling up her sweater revealing the wire she was wearing.

"Wire, you're wearing a wire?" screeched Phil.

Jess couldn't help, but smile. It would be all over soon.

"You bitch!" Phil pulled his arm back and punched Jess hard across her left cheek causing her to fall back onto the sofa. Then he climbed on top of her ready to strike again when Don burst through the door with Mac hot on his tail.

"Get away from her now!" shouted Don, his gun drawn and pointed at Phil.

At the sound of Don's voice, relief flooded Jess.

Acting quickly, Don pulled Phil off of Jess and dropped him to the floor. Before he had a chance to do anything, Mac was there, handcuffs at the ready and he arrested Phil.

"Don, I got this," said Mac gently. "Take care of Jess."

Walking over to the sofa, Don helped Jess stand up. Pulling her into his arms, he could feel how badly she was shaking. "It's okay, Jess. You're safe."

Jess clung to Don finding safety in his arms. "Did we get him?"

"Yes. You did real good, Jess," said Don. "We got exactly what we needed."

Reluctantly, Don let go of Jess. As much as he wanted to keep her wrapped up in his arms, he needed to see her face and check that she was okay. Intense anger flared inside of him when he saw the bruise forming on her cheek. She was going to have one heck of a shiner. "Jess, do you want to go to the hospital and get this looked at?"

Her face was throbbing, but Jess knew it wasn't that bad. Right now she wanted to get home so she could take a shower and wash off Phil's touch. "I just need some ice for it."

"Are you sure?" asked Flack, concern etched across his face.

"Yes," replied Jess. "Can you take me home?"

"Let's check with Mac and then we'll go."

_More_ _to Come_

Thank you for reading! Reviews are always greatly appreciated! Please let me know what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

It was rather late when Jess finally was allowed to leave. There were a lot questions that needed to be answered and even though she insisted she was fine, a medic was called in to look at her cheek. Pictures were taken of the bruise. It was still pretty light, but in a couple of hours it would be a dark shade of purple. After promising to come into the station house in the morning to have more pictures taken, Jess was allowed to leave.

Phil was arrested on charges of sexual harassment and assault. The whole time he kept insisting that it was Jess who came onto him, but there was no denying the bruise on Jess' face and what they caught on tape.

Once back at her apartment, all Jess wanted was a long hot shower. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt that dirty. After stepping inside the bathroom, she quickly got undressed and tossed her clothes out the door.

"Do you want me put these in the hamper?" asked Don.

"No, put them in thrash," replied Jess. There was no way she ever going to wear them again.

oooooOOOOooooo

Jess was in the shower so long that Don started to worry. He was just about to knock on the door when she emerged. "You okay, Jess?"

"I'm fine" replied Jess. "I just want to go to bed."

Don knew that mean that Jess didn't want to talk about what happened that day. He figured growing up in a testosterone filled household, she had probably learned early on to keep her feelings to herself. He was just afraid if she didn't let it out now, she'd crash sometime in the future. Don was afraid that would happen at the wrong time. Like when she was interrogating a suspect.

After changing in to her comfort pjs, a well worn pair of plaid flannel pajamas, Jess crawled into bed. Don was quick to join her. Needing the safety that Don's arms provided, Jess curled up against him and he wrapped his arms around her. Don gave a kiss to the top of her head as he thanked God for her not being hurt worse. Eventually the couple drifted off sleep, his arms still wrapped around her.

oooooOOOOooooo

Don was pulled out of his slumber a couple of hours later by Jess' tossing and turning. Reaching over he gently grasped her shoulder and gave it a shake. "Jess, baby, wake up."

"Huh." Jess' voice was heavy with sleep and she started to come around. "What's going on?"

"You were tossing and turning."

Jess looked down and saw the comforter twisted around her legs. "Sorry for waking you."

"That's okay. Bad dream?"

Jess nodded and turned away from Don.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," said Jess, softly.

Gently, Don turned Jess's head around so she was facing him. He could see unshed tears in her eyes. "Baby, you need to let it out."

Jess furiously wiped at her eyes. "Don, I'm fine. There's nothing to talk about."

"Jess, what Phil did was not right."

"No, it's not right, but I'm fine."

The slight shaking coming from Jess' could have been due to the coldness of the room, but Don didn't think that was the case. Pulling the comforter up around them, Don wondered if he shared from his past, it would help her. "Jess, did I ever tell you about the first time I shot someone in the line of duty?"

Jess shook her head.

"My partner and I were responding to a domestic disturbance. A man had barricaded himself inside his apartment with his wife and two young kids. My partner, Bill, had convinced him to let his family go. But I guess he had second thoughts because as Bill was escorting the wife and kids out, the husband pointed his gun at his wife's back. I didn't have time to think about it. I just pulled my gun and fired. I shot the guy in the shoulder. Afterwards, everyone kept asking if I was okay and I swore up and down that I was just fine. Bill tried to get me to talk about it, but I wouldn't. I mean, I was fine so there was nothing really to talk about. At least that's what I told myself. Two weeks later, Bill and I were responding to a robbery at a bodega. We walked in to the store find the robber with pointing a gun at the clerk. In that moment, I froze. I just stood there unable to do anything. Luckily, Bill was there and he was able to take charge of the situation. He pulled out his gun and convinced the robber to drop his. Fortunately, nobody ending up getting hurt. Afterwards, Bill demanded that I talk to him. He said that I couldn't keep it all bottled up anymore."

"Did talking about it help?" asked Jess.

"It did," replied Don. "Jess, you are one of the strongest people I know. Your strength is one of the things I admire about you most, but you don't have to be strong all of the time. It's okay to admit you were scared. Please don't keep it all bottled up, baby. You need to let it out."

Jess was silent for a while, taking in everything Don had just told her. He was right about letting it out, but being a female cop, Jess had learned to show no weaknesses. However, here with Don she knew there would be no judgement, only support. "I worked hard to get where I am. I'm a good cop. How dare that bastard come along and try to take that away from me!"

Don stayed silent, knowing Jess need to get it all out.

"I was so afraid that our plan wouldn't work out. Our jobs could have been in serious jeopardy. Mac's too. When then Phil admitted what he wanted, I was so relieved. I knew that we had him. We had him and it was all over. But...." Jess paused.

"But what?" asked Don gently.

Jess took a shuddering breath. "But when he hit me, I got scared. I knew you and Mac were right outside, but I was scared. When he climbed on top of me, I was so shocked that I didn't fight back." Tears started flowing freely down Jess' face.

Don pulled Jess into his arms and held her tight. He kept repeating that it was okay as he rubbed soothing circles on her back. He hated that she had been scared, but he was glad that she was letting it all out. Eventually Jess cried herself to sleep.

oooooOOOOooooo

The next morning, Jess would up feeling much better inside. Don had been right about letting it all out. Unfortunately, her outside didn't match her inside as her cheek was throbbing with pain.

"I think you might be wanting these." Don held out a couple of Advil and a glass of water which Jess gratefully accepted. "Mac called. He wants to see us. He said something's come up."

"I hope it's something good."

"Well, he didn't sound upset, so I'm guessing it's something good."

oooooOOOOooooo

An hour later found Jess and Don sitting in Mac's office. After pleasantries were exchanged, Mac got down to why they were all there.

"After the accusations were lodged against Don, the DA wanted another sweep of the dealer's apartment. Because you work with everyone here a CSI team from the Bronx was brought in. The defense attorney was present so he could see things were above board."

"What more was there to find?" asked Don. "We were pretty thorugh in our investigation."

"I know, but the DA wanted it done on the slim chance that we missed something," said Mac. "And it turned out we did miss something."

"What?" asked Jess.

"How?" wondered Don.

"It wasn't something obvious. One of the Bronx guys tripped and accidentally hit a mirror on wall, dislodging it. He noticed a red light. It turns out that the dealer was extremely paranoid and had installed a surveillance system that ran twenty four hours behind a two way mirror. When footage from the digital camera was viewed it showed Don finding the briefcase of drugs under the bed. It cleared you fully," said Mac.

"How long ago was this discovered?" asked Don.

"Five days," answered Mac.

"That's before Lane called me into his office," said Jess. "I guess he didn't know."

"Actually he did know," said Mac.

"What?" cried Jess and Don in unison.

"The DA said that after viewing the footage, she called Lane to let him know and told him to drop the investigation into Don."

"That bastard. He knew all along. He knew Don was innocent and he still thought he could get me into bed." Jess was angry.

"Well, with that knowledge, plus what we have on tape, Phil's decided to accept the deal the DA offered him and plead guilty."

"Seriously?" asked Don.

"Seriously," replied Mac.

oooooOOOOooooo

"How are you feeling, Jess?" asked Don.

"I'm relieved that it's all over," replied Jess.

"Yeah, I'm glad that there won't be a trial." Don knew a trial would have been hard on Jess, having to testify about what Phil did to her.

"I'm glad that he's lost his badge and going to jail." It's what the bastard deserves, thought Jess.

oooooOOOOooooo

After zipping out for some coffee, Jess and Don arrived back at the station house. They got there just in time to to see Phil being led from the station house in handcuffs.

"Jessica!" growled Phil. "Are you happy now? Are you happy that you ruined my life, bitch?"

Don was just about to say something when Jess spoke.

"You ruined your own life. What you did is all on you," said Jess. "You're gonna have plenty of time in Rikers to think about how you ruined your life. However, Don and I will be moving forward with our lives and you'll be nothing, but a bad memory that fades away."

Before he hand a chance to respond, Phil was ushered into a squad car.

"Are you okay, Jess?" asked Don.

"I've never been better," said Jess and she meant it.

_The End_

I want to send a big thanks to everyone who read my story! An even bigger thanks goes out to everyone who took the time to write a review! I really appreciate each and every one of them. Please let me know what you think of the final chapter!


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